The Walking Dead Ratings Went Up This Week

12/06/2016 01:57 pm EST

Finally, The Walking Dead ratings have seen a week to week increase in Season 7.

Though it was tiny, the penultimate episode of 2016 saw the first week to week rise in viewership for Season 7 which started off with the series' second highest rated episode (17 million viewers) before dropping down to numbers as low as Season 3.

Sunday night's Sing Me A Song episode -- one which was well-received by critics and fans alike -- drew 10.48 million viewers for a 4.95 rating in the key 18-49 demo. The numbers top the 10.40 million viewers and 4.90 ratings from Episode 7x06.

To no surprise, The Walking Dead was the highest-rated and most-watched program on Sunday night with Talking Dead taking second, once again, at a 1.69 rating with 3.77 million viewers.

Here is how the numbers have looked so far through The Walking Dead Season 7:

• 7x01: 17.03 million
• 7x02: 12.46 million
• 7x03: 11.72 million
• 7x04: 11.40 million
• 7x05: 11.00 million
• 7x06: 10.40 million
• 7x07: 10.48 million

The Walking Dead had some tough competition on Sunday night as it competed with the hottest new show on cable's Season 1 finale in HBO's Westworld. In fact, the J.J. Abrams produced series drew its largest audience yet on Sunday night.

The boost in ratings can likely be attributed to a few factors. Not only was last weekend's Tara-centric episode 7x06 aired over a holiday weekend but the marketing campaign behind Episode 7x07 garnered a huge buzz from hardcore fans of the series. Social media chatter got loud as teases of Carl's big eye reveal (an iconic moment from Robert Kirkman's comic books) surfaced throughout the weekend.

As for the Season 7 midseason finale coming up this Sunday, we should expect another increase in the numbers. With a bloody new look on Negan, a major character might just be offed for the first time since the premiere as the storylines continue to come together in the same episode unlike 7x02-7x06.

More Walking Dead:

Sing Me a Song Recap / Where Did Jesus Go? / Will Spencer Die? / What Did Daryl's Note Say? / Finale Preview Released / Is Michonne Going To Kill Negan? / Where Is Rick? / Carl's Big Reveal / Where Are Carol And Morgan? / What Did The Sign Say? / Steven Yeun Got Married / Where Jesus Went According To Tom Payne

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

(via Showbuzz)

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.